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Samaritan Snare
'' |image= |series= |production=40272-143 |producer(s)= |story= |script=Robert McCullough (as Robert L. McCullough) |director=Les Landau |imdbref=tt0708768 |guests=Diana Muldaur as Dr. Katherine Pulaski, Christopher Collins as Grebnedlog, Leslie Morris as Reginod, Daniel Benzali as Surgeon, Lycia Naff as Ens. Sonya Gomez, Tzi Ma as Biomolecular specialist |previous_production=Q Who |next_production=Up the Long Ladder |episode=TNG B17 |airdate=15 May 1989 |previous_release=Q Who |next_release=Up the Long Ladder |story_date(s)=Stardate 42779.1 |previous_story=Q Who |next_story=Up the Long Ladder }} =Summary= Captain Jean-Luc Picard is due for a medical operation: his artificial heart is starting to break down and needs to be replaced. Picard refuses to have Chief Medical Officer Doctor Pulaski do it, and does not want the procedure performed on board the Enterprise as he is concerned about his image with the crew, so Pulaski implores him to go to a starbase for the operation. As Acting Ensign Wesley Crusher is already scheduled to travel there by shuttlecraft for his Starfleet Academy entrance exams, Picard announces he will be joining him. Though initially rebuffing Wesley's attempts to make conversation, Picard eventually softens, and reveals a bit of his past, including the experience that led to his acquiring an artificial heart in the first place. Meanwhile, the Enterprise encounters the Mondor, a ship of strange aliens called Pakleds, who request the Enterprise's help to fix their broken ship. Based on the Pakleds' rudimentary communication skills and apparent lack of understanding of the basic operations of their ship, Commander Riker judges them to be inept and harmless, and agrees to send Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge over to assist them. On board the Pakled ship, La Forge quickly repairs the ship's navigational system, when suddenly main power fails, extending his stay; meanwhile, Counselor Troi senses troubling emotions from the Pakleds and warns Riker that Geordi is in danger, but Riker dismisses her concerns. Upon finally completing the repairs, La Forge prepares to return to the Enterprise, but the Pakleds use his phaser to incapacitate him, and raise shields. Lieutenant Commander Data determines that the Pakleds have acquired advanced technology from other races, and the ship's malfunctions were a ruse. Riker demands they return La Forge, but the Pakleds refuse, and stun him again. On the Enterprise, Riker and Lieutenant Worf establish a ruse of their own, which they communicate to La Forge in code. Meanwhile, complications arise during Picard's transplant, and the doctors realize that unless they can locate an expert with the necessary expertise, he will die. As Riker sets up his ruse, Worf receives a message from the starbase that Picard is close to death. The Pakleds, meanwhile, intend to attack the Enterprise. La Forge convinces the Pakleds to delay firing until a specific range, at which point the Enterprise generates a spectacular but harmless pyrotechnic display, and Geordi simultaneously disables their weapon systems. The Pakleds, convinced they have been defeated, back down and return La Forge, and the Enterprise races to the starbase. Picard is dismayed upon waking up to find that Pulaski has completed his procedure. While Pulaski assures him she will keep his secret, he returns to the Enterprise's bridge to applause, which he quickly silences. =Errors and Explanations= Internet Movie Database Incorrectly regarded as goofs # At one point, a shot shows the dome above Riker's head on the bridge. The view appears to be dense with stars, although the shot just prior to this one shows Enterprise and the Pakled ship sitting in an area of space that contains far fewer stars. (IMDB) On closer inspection, the dome is more likely to be a proper ceiling consisting of glass that includes bubbles; these bubbles reflect the light from the bridge, which creates the effect of a star-strewn dome. Real stars would be next to invisible anyway, as their light intensity would be far lower than the illuminated bridge's. Nit Central # Steve-Oh! on Tuesday, September 21, 1999 - 10:01 am: It's no wonder the doctor is screwing up the operation; he might want to turn the lights up higher so he can see what he's doing! The area around Picard is shrouded in multiple shadows, and even worse, when the doctor sends an assistant away for a specialist, the bright lighting in the hallway casts a glare on everything inside the operating room when the doors open! Are we to believe that the hallway is better lit than the operating theater? KAM on Tuesday, September 21, 1999 - 5:59 pm: Maybe the Doctor's race doesn't use the visible light spectrum? Perhaps he sees better with ultra-violet or infra-red? # John A. Lang on Tuesday, June 04, 2002 - 4:48 pm: GARGANTUAN NIT: The shuttle is moving...so...how come the stars in the window ain't? '''Sophie Hawksworth on Wednesday, June 05, 2002 - 2:05 am: Actually at impulse speed it would be a nit if the stars in the window did move. I calculated that if the nearest star straight outside the window were 1 light year away (really close in space terms) and the shuttle were moving at 1/4 the speed of light then it would take over 25 days for the star to move by 1 degree. More distant stars would move more slowly. The only way we should ever see a starfield moving at impulse is if the ship is turning. MarkN on Saturday, October 26, 2002 - 2:24 am: Actually, if you look at them closely you'll see that they do indeed move, albeit verrrry slowly. ''' =Sources= Category:Episodes Category:The Next Generation